PUBH5426: Semester 2, 2023

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Units PUBH5426 Semester 2 2023 [Online]

Unit of study_

PUBH5426: Vaccines in Public Health

Semester 2, 2023 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of immunisation principles, the impact of vaccination on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), how to assess the need for new vaccines and how to implement and monitor a new vaccination program. This unit covers the history and impact of vaccination; basic immunological principles of immunisation; surveillance of diseases; vaccination coverage; vaccine effectiveness; vaccine safety; vaccine scares; risk communication; program evaluation; immunisation in the developing country context; health security; assessing disease burden and new vaccines. Learning activities include online learning modules introducing topics and concepts, followed by weekly online interactive lectures and case study tutorials throughout the semester. Students will have access to online learning resources, included reading lists, and will be required to complete compulsory online quizzes, assignments and a group assessment.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PUBH5426
Academic unit	Public Health
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	PUBH5010 or (PUBH5018 or FMHU5002)
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Understanding of basic health sciences and related concepts. Students should have a Bachelor's degree in a health related discipline
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Aditi Dey, aditi.dey@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Nicholas Wood, nicholas.wood@sydney.edu.au
	Aditi Dey, aditi.dey@sydney.edu.au
	Clayton Chiu, clayton.chiu@sydney.edu.au
	Frank Beard, frank.beard@sydney.edu.au
	Kristine Macartney, kristine.macartney@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Tutorial quiz	Quiz 1 Online quiz 10 Questions	10%	Week 04 Due date: 21 Aug 2023 at 23:59	15 minutes (oral)
Outcomes assessed:
Tutorial quiz	Quiz 2 Online Quiz 20 Questions	20%	Week 07 Due date: 14 Sep 2023 at 23:59	30 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Written assignment 1 Essay	30%	Week 08 Due date: 18 Sep 2023 at 23:59	1 x 2000 word (+/- 10%) essay
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Written assignment 2 Essay	30%	Week 12 Due date: 23 Oct 2023 at 23:59	1 x 2000 word (+/- 10%) essay
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Group assessment Oral Presentation	10%	Week 13 Due date: 31 Oct 2023 at 19:00	10 mins
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Quiz 1 (10 questions) and Quiz 2 (20 questions) – these quizzes will test your understanding of material covered in the weekly classes and guided self-directed study

Written Assignment 1 – 2000 word essay. This essay will allow you to integrate information developed over the course to examine an aspect of vaccine development

Written assignment 2 – 2000 word essay. This essay will allow you to integrate information developed over the course to examine an aspect of vaccine programs

Group Assignment – 10 minute oral presentation. The presentation will draw on material from across the unit.

Assessment criteria

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85-100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75-84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for this unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlines by your faculty or school.
Credit	65-74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50-64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0-49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.
Absent fail	0-49	When you haven’t completed all assessment tasks or met the attendance requirements.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

As per Assessment Procedures 2011

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction, immunological principles and vaccine development	Online class (2 hr)
Week 01	Pre-recorded lectures and readings on immunological principles and vaccine development	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 02	Vaccine preventable disease surveillance, outbreaks and epidemiology. Immunisation coverage and registers.	Online class (2 hr)
Week 02	Pre-recorded lectures and readings on vaccine preventable disease surveillance, outbreaks and epidemiology	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 03	Case study 1 - Texarkana measles outbreak	Online class (2 hr)
Week 03	Pre-reading for Case study 1	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 04	Immunisation programs	Online class (2 hr)
Week 04	Pre-recorded lecture and readings for immunisation programs	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 05	Immunisation in specific populations	Online class (2 hr)
Week 05	Readings on immunisation in specific populations	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 06	Case study 2 - Introducing new vaccines into an immunisation program	Online class (2 hr)
Week 06	Pre-recorded lectures on introducing new vaccines into an immunisation program and the economic evaluation of vaccination programs. Readings for Case study 2	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 07	Vaccine preventable diseases current and future challenges - focus on COVID-19	Online class (2 hr)
Week 07	Pre-reading on vaccine preventable diseases current and future challenges - focus on COVID-19	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 08	Vaccine safety	Online class (2 hr)
Week 08	Pre-recorded lectures and reading on vaccine safety	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 09	Case study 3 - Assessing vaccine safety	Online class (2 hr)
Week 09	Pre-reading on Case study 3	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 10	Enabling high vaccine coverage	Online class (2 hr)
Week 10	Pre-recorded lectures and readings on enabling high vaccine coverage	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 11	Vaccine program delivery and evaluation, and future challenges for vaccines	Online class (2 hr)
Week 11	Pre-recorded lecture and readings on vaccine program delivery and evaluation, and future challenges for vaccines	Independent study (3 hr)
Week 12	Group assessment activity	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 13	Group assessment activity	Presentation (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Students are strongly encouraged to attend all weekly online live lectures and tutorials and actively engage in synchronous learning activities. There are also additional online resources and references (asynchronous learning resources) provided each week in preparation for weekly online live lectures and tutorials. Students are strongly encouraged to review these asynchronous resources prior to attending weekly online live lectures and tutorials.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand the history and impact of vaccination
LO2. Describe the basic immunological principles of immunisation
LO3. Understand the key principles of surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases
LO4. Understand key considerations for introducing new vaccines and assessing vaccines for use in immunisation programs
LO5. Understand how vaccination coverage is calculated and monitored
LO6. Describe the principles of vaccine effectiveness
LO7. Describe vaccine safety monitoring systems and how responses to vaccination safety issues are managed
LO8. Understand how immunisation programs are evaluated
LO9. Understand key issues impacting immunisation in the developing country context
LO10. Describe strategies for improving vaccination communication, understanding determinants of vaccine uptake and enabling high vaccine coverage

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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